NEW PROGRAM NEEDS MORE PRIORITY

“Open Fields” Hunting Access Program Needs a Push

Open Fields was a “major victory” for hunters and wildlife conservation, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) and many other green groups that lobbied for it. It passed back in December 2008, but almost a year later, this innovative hunter access program is still mired in the administrative rule making process.

Now, predictably, conservationists who struggled mightily for the program are asking Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack for a little more priority.

Hunters: Bear Spray Bill Based on Bogus, Meaningless Statistics

Wyoming lawyer's proposed bear spray bill based on inaccurate information. To insure hunter safety, big game hunters in grizzly country need advice on how to use firearms effectively, not bear spray propoganda.

Economy

Surrounded by Job Losses, Montana’s Firearms Industry Thrives

Brian Sipe recalls when the noted rifle barrel maker Les Bauska told him: “If you want to starve to death, become a gunsmith.” So, naturally, Sipe became a gunsmith.

Then in 1990, he parlayed his skills into the rifle barrel business, starting Montana Rifleman with “about $200” to his name. But one by one, the rifle barrels began pouring out of his shop and that $200 grew some fat. Nearly 20 years later, Sipe’s barrels can be found across the world, on rifles with household names like Remington and Bushmaster.

And this year, prompted by concern over how the Obama administration will affect federal gun laws, business has gone through the roof. People are stocking up on firearms, Sipe said. Montana Rifleman, located on Montana Highway 35 outside of Kalispell, has already churned out more than 100,000 rifle barrels this year. In past years, the total was closer to 70,000-80,000, Sipe said.

“We’re not a hobby barrel maker anymore,” Sipe said.

The Flathead Valley, and Montana for that matter, has a rich history of barrel and gun manufacturing, boasting names like the Bauska family, the Sipe family and, more recently, the Sonju family. The Sonjus have formed a sister company to their Sonju Industrial, which manufactures aerospace parts.

PRATICAL TIPS FOR MAKING A GOOD CHOICE

Choosing a Fishing Lodge

So, you’ve finally decided to take that fishing trip of a lifetime--to Alaska, Canada, Patagonia, the Caribbean or another exotic location. Now, be sure you choose the right lodge.

The cost is always key, of course, but hardly the only concern. Regardless of your passion--bonefish, tarpon, muskie, salmon, monster rainbows or pike, whatever--you don’t want your long-awaited (and deserved, right?) vacation to turn into a stressful and costly disappointment.

If you’re a do-it-yourself type of guy, this column isn’t for you, but if you decide to stay at a fishing lodge and have a guided adventure, finding the right outfitter and avoiding problems along the way can be challenging. I’m hardly an expert, but I’ve stayed at a dozen or more lodges through the years.  Along the way, I’ve picked up a few tips that might be helpful.

FOLLOWING MY SHOTS

Tester’s Wilderness Bill, Updates

UPDATED 10/27/09. See end of column.

Anybody who reads NewWest.Net regularly might be getting a little weary of reading about Senator Jon Tester’s “Jobs and Recreation Act,” S. 1470. So far, by last count, we’ve posted twenty-two articles and columns on the bill and its impact. This includes our own coverage and several guest columns, as we’ve tried to give each major stakeholder a forum to voice their point of view, including one from the senator himself. (Click here to read them all.)

But this bill keeps on giving out stories, it seems, such as these updates and follow-ups to earlier postings.

MICROBREW MONTANA

First Brewers Octoberfest a Hoppin’ Good Time

For craft beer lovers, Bozeman was rocking Friday night, October 23, when about 900 people crowded into exhibition buildings at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds for the first-ever Octoberfest sponsored by the Montana Brewer’s Association (MBA).

All seventeen brewery members of the organization were on hand featuring their favorite brews, 54 choices in all, and since I was among the 900, I can testify to the fact that the crowd loved every minute--and every ounce--of it.

WASHINGTON TO THE RESCUE?

Roadless Rule Bill: the Timing is Right, so Just Pass It

Unnoticed by many, two members of Congress from Washington have decided it’s about time to do something to resolve the seemingly endless debate over the future of our last roadless lands.

Senator Maria Cantwell and Representative Jay Inslee, both Democrats, have re-introduced the National Forest Roadless Area Conservation Act (S.1738, H.R. 3563) to codify the Clinton-era Roadless Rule that has been on a legal roller coaster for the past nine years.

GUEST COMMENTARY

The First American President to Win the Nobel Peace Prize

President Obama isn’t the first American President to win the Nobel Peace Prize.  The first President, as well as the first American, to receive that coveted honor was a one-time member of the Montana Stock Grower’s Association. Theodore Roosevelt was also the first and only future President to win the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Roosevelt was awarded the peace prize for successfully mediating the end to the bloody Russo–Japanese War. He received the Medal of Honor for leading his Rough Rider’s in their hell-for-leather assault on San Juan Hill.

In my opinion Theodore Roosevelt (he disliked the moniker “Teddy”) was the most remarkable American who ever lived.  His portrait has been on my office wall for three decades. I have over 60 volumes by him or about him.

OIL SHALE

In Issuing New Oil Shale Leases, Salazar Seeks Probe into Past

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced Tuesday a new set of experimental oil shale leases with stricter controls than Bush-era leases, and he’s calling for an investigation of an 11th-hour move by the previous administration that critics saw as a giveaway to energy companies.

Salazar said he had “serious questions” about whether the January 15 lease addenda, which opened up 50,000 additional acres to oil shale leasing for six companies, “are in fact legal or whether or not they should be rescinded.”

He asked for the department’s inspector general to launch a probe into the Bush move before his office would take action on it.